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Cooking Meats
Meats are perfect to sear, roast or braise on the grill. Searing and Roasting techniques are described in more detail below.
Braising requires a tightly covered pot or pan placed on the grill surface. Braise as you would for a stove-top braising recipe,
adjusting the burners to control the cook surface temperature. Meats can also be sliced and put on skewers, added to a stir-fry
or used in hot sandwiches. Veal and Pork are often made into cutlets or scallopini. Create small slices that have been lightly
fl attened with a meat mallet, seasoned and then dusted with fl our. Scallopini and cutlets are usually seared in butter until
golden brown and served with a sauce or lemon juice and fresh parsley.
Cooking Poultry
Boneless cuts that have been fl attened to an even thickness with a meat mallet cook more evenly and more quickly. Poultry
that has been prepared in this way can then be marinated, breaded or rubbed with spices before searing on the grill. Poultry
can also be roasted, braised, sautéed, fried or poached on the Evo grill. Roast as you would in your kitchen oven placing the
roast in a roasting pan with a rack and using the hood to contain the heat from the grill. To sauté, slice the meat into thin strips
and sauté, turning with a spatula directly on the cook surface. Use pots and pans for stove-top cooking techniques. Fill a pot
with oil for frying or with stock for poaching. Use a tightly covered pot or pan to braise. Small game birds such as quail are
small enough that they can be sear cooked all the way through without having to use the hood to create an oven. In the case
of duck breast, it is best to sear the skin side of the duck breast fi rst and to continue cooking until the skin becomes crispy and
much of the fat has been rendered away. This way the duck meat won’t get over cooked before the skin is crispy.
Cooking Fish
Lean fi sh such as Flounder, Sole, Sea Bass, Cod, Monk Fish and Red Snapper are usually purchased in the form of fi llets.
Fillets of fi sh are ideal to cook on the Evo grill because they are fl at and will cook quickly and effi ciently. Because lean fi sh
tends to fl ake apart easily, using Evo’s fl at top grill makes handling and cooking fi sh much easier than open-fl ame grills. For
additional fl avor and texture, you can also lightly dust the seasoned fi llets with fl our or use a breading mixture before searing.
Fatty Fish such as Swordfi sh, Tuna, Sturgeon, Striped Bass, and Salmon are usually purchased in steaks or fi llets. Marinate
them, rub them with spices, or simply season with salt and pepper. Sear the fi sh on a lightly oiled hot cook surface till golden
brown and cooked to your desired doneness.
Searing
Sear cooking is the most common cooking technique used on the Evo fl at top grill. Searing is done by placing food directly
onto the hot cook surface and allowing that food item to develop a fl avorful “seared” or browned exterior. Searing imparts fl avor
to food and also helps seal in natural juices. Searing can be done with vegetables, meats, fi sh, poultry, etc. One nice feature
of the Evo grill is its convex cooking surface. The convex shape allows fats to fl ow away from your food and into a drip pan.
This minimizes fl avors from mixing on the cook surface and also helps cut down on fat in your food. Once the food is seared
on one side, fl ip to sear the other side and allow it to fi nish cooking. Some foods take longer to cook and will require that you
reduce the cook surface temperature to fi nish cooking without over cooking the exterior. With foods that take longer to cook
you can also adjust one of the two heat zones to a lower temperature and move food to the lower temperature zone after it has
been seared over the high temperature zone. The lower temperature will allow the food to continue cooking while retaining a
perfectly browned exterior. For non-stick cooking it is essential that the cook surface be hot and lightly oiled before searing,
and that you allow the food to sear before you attempt to move it with your spatula or tongs. Overall, cooking on Evo’s fl at-top
cook surface does not involve the same charring of food that is typically done with an open-fl ame grill. Cooking with the Evo
grill involves a controlled “sear” that develops perfectly browned foods.
Using Marinades and Spice Rubs
When using spice rubs and marinades it is important to be aware of the sugar content in the recipes. If a marinade is high in
sugar you will fi nd that when placed on a hot cook surface, the sugars will “caramelize” on the cook surface: similar to what
will happen to a pan on your stove top. Caramelized sugars are sticky and will eventually burn off, however to ensure easy
cleanup, it’s encouraged that you use oil based marinades that are low in sugars. Your cook surface will be easier to clean and
you will achieve a better quality sear on your meats, poultry, fi sh and vegetables.
Stir-Fry
Stir-Fry is best done with very high heat and very quickly, so it’s important to keep the food moving throughout the cooking
process. Use two spatulas to stir-fry food on the hot cook surface. The two spatula method allows you to scoop the food from
both sides at the same time and toss it together. Meats are usually cooked separately from the vegetables and then combined.
This allows the meats to brown more effi ciently before mixing with the vegetables.
Toasting
Toast bread, croutons, bagels etc. Simply place the item to be toasted directly on the heated grill surface until it is browned.
Flip the item over to toast the other side. If you are making breakfast, you can toast bread, bagels or English muffi ns while
directly alongside preparing eggs, bacon, hash browns, and pancakes. No pots or pans are required, and you can cook
everything at the same time. You can also toast nuts, seeds, dried peppers and spices on Evo’s cook-surface.
